University of Virginia Health System

U.VA. OFFERS AREA RESIDENTS FREE MINI-MED SCHOOL COURSE

Area residents who are interested in health and medicine can apply to attend this year's Mini-Med School at the University of Virginia Health System, tuition-free.

This informative and entertaining course is designed to familiarize the general public with key medical topics and provide insights into medical research.

Beginning Thursday, March 28, and continuing for seven weeks, the evening classes will cover topics such as anatomy, aging, diabetes, cancer, hypertension, AIDS and medical research. On one evening, participants will visit a research laboratory.

Over the past seven years, the Mini-Med School has attracted more than 900 attendees, from high school students to seniors. At the end of last year's course, participants wrote:

• The body and its functions have yet to stop amazing me and making me yearn to learn more. Thank you for a wonderful experience.
  
  
• I presently work in the healthcare field and have learned so much from this experience, it's inspired me to go back to school.
  
  
• I'm glad to live in a place where up-to-date research and clinical trials are going on.

The Mini-Med School is supported by an educational grant from Pfizer Inc. Admission to the Mini-Med School is decided by lottery because space limits the class size to 140 participants.

To apply, call (434) 924-5839 or 924-2563, or apply on the web at
www.med.virginia.edu/med-ed/minimed. The application deadline is February 15.

January 18, 2002